Opposition politicians have expressed anger at the lack of parliamentary time given to debate the legislation enacting this year's Budget.
Speaking as debate on the Finance Bill got underway in the Commons, Eric Forth said the government was aiming to deny proper opportunities to debate the legislation.
The shadow leader of the Commons said the opposition had been forced to sign up to an inadequate timetable for debate or face "potentially no time at all".
Forth also warned that given the restricted role of the Lords in passing Budget legislation there was "no safety net" should the Commons fail to scrutinise the government effectively.
"Systematically...the government takes its own arbitrary view of how much time this House requires to scrutinise the government, and then feigns surprise when we fail adequately to do so," the shadow leader said.
Forth warned that the timetable would see just three and a half hours set aside to debate key issues such as ISAs and PEPs, children's tax credit issues, capital allowances and vehicle exercise duty on historic vehicles.
"One could argue that each of these issues in itself would merit three and a half hours...but the government is telling us that all of these issues together will be allowed only three and a half hours," he told MPs.
"So when one considers that there is a potential for several hundred members of parliament to want to contribute to a debate on behalf of their constituents...we are only going to be allowed that limited amount of time."
Forth said ministers were also still making "substantial" amendments to their own legislation, even though the historic allowance of two days to consider the Finance Bill had been reduced to just eight hours in total.
He said that MPs should be allowed to discuss the legislation late into the night.
"Is the government now telling us that so delicate are its members, so lacking in stamina, so lacking in commitment to the parliamentary process, that they insist on bunking off at 10 or 11 o'clock at night regardless of whether the measure before us has been given proper scrutiny," Forth asked.
"This is yet another sad episode in what I can only see as the decline of the opportunity of this House of Commons properly to scrutinise the government's business."
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman David Laws also expressed concern at the time allowed for debate on the bill.
He said it was important that "this year's curtailment of these final stages to one day does not set a precedent for future years".
Treasury minister Dawn Primarolo said that "it is not always possible that there is two days' debate on the Finance Bill".
"The Finance Bill and all government business is dealt with in times of availability to the business of the House and looking at the due process of consideration," she added.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd